Thursday, February 19, 2015

Statewide Health Insurance Bill Killed Without a Hearing

A cold and
troubling day at the General Assembly began at the 7 AM meeting of the
Elections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Privileges and Elections.Delegate Mark Cole moved to table Senator
John Watkins’ SB840, a bill to prohibit the use of political data in the
redistricting process.The motion
carried on a 4-3 vote (NAY is a right vote).

YEAS--Ransone, Landes, Fowler, Cole--4.

NAYS--Minchew, Sickles, Futrell--3.

The last chance for passage of a redistricting
bill this session will come tomorrow when the House Committee on Privileges and
Elections takes up Senator Jill Vogel’s SJR284, a Constitutional amendment
(first resolution) to establish a Redistricting Commission.

The last
meeting of the Senate Education and Health Committee followed at 7:45 AM.The committee reported Delegate Peter
Farrell’s HB1320, which prohibits requiring teachers to pay for college courses
to satisfy license renewal requirements.

In a very
disappointing party-line vote the committee reported and re-referred to the
Senate Finance Committee, Delegate Dave LaRock’s HB2238, a public-money to
private and home-school bill.Actually,
the money can even go to car dealers – read the bill.If we are unsuccessful in killing this bill
in the Finance Committee on Monday, you will be hearing much more about it as
we head into the floor fight.

The major
disappointment of the day, came when Senator Ben Chafin’s SB866, the bill to
provide local school divisions with a statewide health insurance option,
suddenly disappeared from the docket of the last meeting of the Compensation
and Retirement Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.When I asked why, I was told the House Appropriations
Chair had made the decision.After
coming out of the Senate on a 38-0 vote, the bill was never heard in the
House.That is not the way government
should work!